


Hidden under the Sand

by FrosLure



Series: Soymilk Week 2016 [2]
Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: M/M, Ruins, nerds, sormik2016, soymilk2016
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-10
Updated: 2016-08-10
Packaged: 2018-08-07 19:53:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7727665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrosLure/pseuds/FrosLure
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sorey and Mikleo have found a ruin hidden in the desert, and like two members of the group trying to save the world from darkness and evil they...jump straight on into ruin nerd mode! But when Mikleo gets trapped its a race against time to save the water seraph!</p>
<p>Second entry for the Soymilk week. Hella.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hidden under the Sand

“Woooooah! Mikleo! Mikleo! Look at this!” 

Loud cries from a few feet to the left brought the water seraphim’s attention, taking slow strides over to brush against his best friend’s side. Before he had to ask what it was Sorey had found, the human of the two pointed upwards at a large doorway, covered in patterns and swirls that met at the top and spiraled out into the wall connecting. In between the crossing of each carved area, was a smaller stone, pulsing with seraphic artes and giving the arch a mysterious glow. Just minutes before it had been just a wall, but somehow Sorey found a way in. Point for him, Mikleo thought only somewhat bitterly only because he didn’t find it first. 

“Do you think it’s a secret tunnel to get out of the ruins? If so, we can finally get Rose and the others and have them stop threatening to tear the whole place down.” Mikleo asked, turning around to already let the rest of the party know. During their journey as the chosen Shepard, Sorey had noticed some odd rocks sticking out of the sand. Instantly both boys knew what that meant, and had ran over to get to digging with only a half-wave to their companions. Edna, always the…caring seraph she was, gave a warning right as soon as Mikleo’s feet touched weakened ground, caving in and pulling him under just as soon as Sorey grabbed onto him. “What is with you and falling into holes lately?” he teased, slowly moving to pull him up when Edna, once again ever kind, had mentioned that any movement from Sorey and he’d be plummeting too. 

And such was fate, as the ground crumbled and both boys fell into the earthy darkness below. It wasn’t a far drop, but equally as painful as the ground they laid on now was much sturdier compared to sand. They were told to wait, as Rose threw a rope down for them to pull out of but the duo were already more interested in the secret ruins they found instead, walking off with promise of return in less than an hour.

Of course, and hour turned into half a day and before they knew it Rose and the other three seraphim had stormed down alone, the human girl looking annoyed and ready to chew their heads off. Quiet apologies were swept aside and forgotten when the group now realized that they had no idea how to return to the surface. This left Rose, almost twitching from her rage, stuck with the Earth, Wind, and Fire Seraphim as Mikleo and Sorey promised to find a way out for all of them. 

That was how they found their way deeper into the ruins, rather than further out. “This would be a perfect place for an entryway too. Its deep enough that any animals who would try to hide from the blistering sun would fit, and assuming this isn’t the only entrance would help keep harmony between humans, seraphim, and nature.” Sorey nodded, agreeing absent mindedly before shrugging. “But why would they want to risk having wild animals hiding around in their only way in or out? I think the sloping is both to help keep the place cool as well as keep the sand out.” “No way Sorey, the sand would fall into the hole, making things worse not better.” “Mmn…I see your point.” 

The water seraph smirked at his victory, taking another few steps before he was stopped by an arm on his hand. “Sorey?” He questioned, turning around to look at him. “Well…we don’t know for sure if that’s really an exit. Shouldn’t we…make sure? Rose will kill us if we lead her to a dead end you know.” It was a poorly made cover-up to explore some more but Mikleo wasn’t complaining in the slightest. He knew without a doubt that the second they find a way out, Rose would be dragging them to the nearest rest point and tying them down so to not try and sneak back here. This could be one of their only chances for a long time to properly explore. 

“For once you have a good point. No good if this entry was closed or something.” Silver hair dancing as he turned back around, Mikleo lead the way back into the opening, walking up the stairs with Sorey in tow. It took them only a few minutes to reach the top, which held two doors; one in front of them, and one identical to the one they walked out of, just a little to the left. 

“I wonder if they have different openings for different parts of the city?” Sorey lamented, instantly ignoring the obvious exit to instead inspect this second door. “Careful Sorey.” “I know, it could be a mimic, used to confuse and stop trespassers. But…won’t know until we try right?” “So were the famous last words of Shepard Sorey, how we missed him.” “Oh, come on Mikleo! If you’re scared of a door just admit it~” “I-I am not scared of a DOOR Sorey! I’m being cautious! You know, that thing that humans don’t have enough of sometimes?!” The banter continued, Sorey’s hand just hovering over the door handle before he turned back around with a smile, Mikleo directly behind him just in case. 

“Alright then, we’ll open it together. That way I can see whats inside and you prove you’re not scared.” The brunette teased, sticking his tongue out before taking Mikleo’s hand in his own and placing it on the handle. Smiling at the familiar feel of his human counterpart’s hand, the water seraphim tried to focus on the feeling of the handle instead, rough, but carved into shape rather than made from artes. “It had to have been coexisted by humans and seraphim, no earth seraph would waste their time in hand crafting a handle. Just look at Edna.” He commented, earning a snort from Sorey as they pulled the door open together. Almost instantly Mikleo felt a change in the area, releasing the door as he shoved at Sorey with all his might before suddenly he felt himself being pushed back into what looked like an empty room. 

“Mikleo!?” His friend called out, voice muffled somewhat as the door slammed shut again and left Mikleo in nothing but darkness. “You okay?!” “Yeah! I think I’m trapped here, I told you it was a mimic door!” “Sorry about that. I’ll try to find a way to open it okay?!” Footsteps outside seemed to grow smaller, as the trapped seraphim decided to at least try to feel around the room. The walls were made out of the same material of the rest of the underground town, though at some points there were dents and oddly shaped bumps that made his skin crawl. Finally, Mikleo’s hand rested on what he expected was a lever, sticking awkwardly out of the wall but cracked in a few places. 

The feeling reminded Mikleo of a time in their childhood, when Sorey had claimed he was obviously stronger as a human. Gramps had given them a book about evolution, which was a tricky concept for them to wrap their heads around at only age seven. All Sorey got out of it was that he was originally a monkey, and therefore must have “monkey powers”. It only took one jump from a branch for both boys to realize that wasn’t quite true, Sorey’s hands shredded by the unforgiving bark that he tried to grab onto and the bone of his elbow sticking out awkwardly. Luckily, another village seraph had watched him fall and the young human was quickly tended to and sleeping peacefully. The months afterwards were tough of both children, who felt like there was nothing to do with Sorey’s broken arm.

Mikleo couldn’t help but chuckle at the memory, brushing against the lever and attempting to pull it. Instead of going down, the object in his hand made a loud crunching noise, and feeling himself pushing further than the lever would have allowed made him realize that he had broken it. “Crap…” Though now that it was in his hand, he could take it over to the exit of the room, a small blip of light just barely useable peeking through. Perhaps if he could look at it…

A surprised cry left the seraphim as soon as the object touched light, throwing the bone away and stumbling backwards. “Mikleo!? Are you okay?!” He heard Sorey run back up, pounding against the door. “I…I don’t think this room is meant just for trapping Sorey…” Standing himself back up the older of the two dusted himself off, focusing on his breathing to stay calm. There was a sudden rumble then, and the sound of earth scraping against earth. “Whats going on in there Mikleo?!” Sorey called out again, his body blocking out the small light that the trapped boy had. “I…I don’t know! I can’t see!” Pink eyes flashed in fear as he attempted to see with little use. “Maybe if I cast an arte…” He speculated, hands flying outwards to his sides to call upon water before he felt rocks against his palms, stopping him halfway and getting closer. “S-Sorey! Its closing in!” He cried, now feeling the walls pushing themselves closer and suddenly understanding how the bone had gotten lodged in the wall to begin with. 

Panicked banging against the door told the water seraphim that Sorey had given up on finding a way to open the door, instead trying to break it down. Though he knew it was pointless, the walls too thick for him to break on his own. Mikleo could feel his arms slowly being pressed against his sides, panic welling up his chest and climbing up through his throat as fear overtook him. Never in his life had he felt so trapped and scared, but before the pain of being crushed could consume him he felt his body be whisked away and into the familiar space that was Sorey’s soul. By the time he realized that he was out of the room, Mikleo was back outside of Sorey, leaning against his friend who checked him for injuries. 

“Besides your hands being cut up pretty badly, you look to be fine. That’s good…” A sigh left the brunette, who pulled him into a tight hug. “I’m sorry I didn’t think about using your true name earlier. I didn’t think…it’d be that dangerous.” Slowly recovering from the shock of a near death experience Mikleo returned the hug, head resting against Sorey’s chest. “I didn’t think of it either. We’re both at fault. I’m okay now though, but we should probably head back…”

Mikleo was the first to pull away, standing up on shaky legs as he held out his scraped hand to Sorey. The other hesitated for a moment, his own hand carefully cupping both of Mikleo’s, and pressing his lips against the pulse point of both. “S-Sorey!” The other cried, both shocked and embarrassed at the sudden affection. “Sorry Mikleo I just…was worried. You sounded so scared in the room and it was my fault for wanting to open the door in the first place.” Mikleo quickly shook his head, kneeling to pull the brunette up. “I’m okay now. Lets go tell Rose the good news alright?” 

The walk back to finding their friends was mostly quiet, filled with a comment or two about the traps above. “They really didn’t want anyone who didn’t belong there huh? I wonder if maybe this was their way of defense…?” Sorey shrugged in question before looking at Mikleo. The overall shock had worn off, and now both of them wondered the practical use of such a trap. “It probably was to just keep out basic intruders like thieves. Or perhaps they’ve hidden something away down here and moved on. Like a spring that connects to the Oasis not too far off.” 

Both of the ruin-lovers stopped their banter right in time, as Rose had stormed over, face red with fury. “Did you finally find a way out?! Edna says we can’t break through because the sand over us would just bury us alive. So if you came back saying you’ll need a bit longer…” She patted where her daggers were, gaining a gulp from both of them before her eyes rested on Mikleo. “Woah, what did you two do?! Mikleo your hands are bleeding like crazy!” This gained the attention of the other three seraphim, the first one speaking up was Lailah. “Come here and I’ll patch them up for you alright? What happened?” Mikleo, knowing better than to argue, quickly made his way to Lailah as Zavied wrapped an arm around Sorey. “Well well well, scratches on the hands could only mean one thing~! And I bet those knees have injuries to match hm?!” Rose, instantly getting what the wind searph was getting at, smacked his arm in warning.

“His knees? Actually I wouldn’t be surprised if he did have some around there. You did take a nasty fall in that room right?” Sorey questioned, slipping out of the older man’s grasp to stand next to his friend. “It wasn’t that bad of a fall Sorey…I’m fine. After all, I did walk all the way back no problem. After Lailah finishes up with my hands, we can get going. I think I’ve had enough adventure for today.”

The others seemed to agree with his statement, no questions asked minus a big of eyebrow waggling from Zavied, before they quickly headed back towards the exit the two youngest members found. “Its weird that they’d build an underground city though don’t you think? Right in the middle of the desert?” “Actually Rose, its precisely because we’re in a desert that this town was built. To protect themselves from the sun they had to find a safe place to expand, and in places so rough and demanding like a desert the safest place is underground. It must have been built by earth seraphim because of the complexity.” Mikleo rambled on, pausing to think. “Probably some wind and water ones too, considering we can breathe down here…” The silence that followed stayed up until they had returned at the previous point, door still open and light filtering from above. 

“See Rose? I told you it wouldn’t take us long!” Sorey cheered, instantly shrinking back when she gave him another look. “It might have been our fault to begin with though…Sorry.” Looking at the saddened human, Rose couldn’t help but slap his back with a sigh. “I ain’t that mad at you Sorey. Don’t look like I just threw your books in the water okay?” Instantly the boy’s mood was brought back up, smiling cheerfully. “Alright then! Now we’re going to continue our journey!” Rose cheered, before turning to see two members looking back at the ruins. “…Right?”

Sorey held a guilty look on his face again. “Uh…I just wondered since we found a way out…would you mind if we just looked a little bit longer?”

“Sorey! Mikleo!”

**Author's Note:**

> Ew. This one was a doozy and I'm like...80% happy with it. I hope you enjoy it! Once again, no proofreading. Cuz I'm a cool cat. Meow.


End file.
